This invention relates, generally, to assemblies for holding articles such, for example, as "point of purchase" merchandise, articles of clothing, shelves, etc., and, more particularly, to article holding assemblies of the type comprising at least one article holding member, such as a hook member, and an elongate retainer member to which the article holding member is adapted to be attached at any desired location along its length so as to be adjustably positionable thereon.
Article holding assemblies comprising one or more article holding members, such as hook members, which are adapted to be attached to elongate retainer members are generally known. In this connection, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,800,387; 2,291,966; 2,754,974; and 2,942,831.
Thus, assemblies are known wherein article supporting members are adapted to be associated with elongate retainer members, the latter being affixable to wall members or the like, and wherein a plurality of such article holding members associated with the retainer member can be moved longitudinally along the length thereof for various reasons as desired.
Known article holding assemblies including some of those described above are not, however, entirely satisfactory for all applications. More particularly, some conventional assemblies are deficient in that it is not possible to associate the article holding members with the elongate retainer member in a positively secured or locked manner. This is due to the fact that such assemblies are designed so that the article holding members when associated with the elongate retainer member are longitudinally movable with respect thereto so that the manner in which the respective assemblies are mutually attached must provide for certain tolerances or "play" at the points of attachment. Such provision results in the article holding members when attached to the retainer member tending to wobble during use which, of course, is undesirable. Thus, in some of the prior art assemblies, the application of a load to the article holding member causes the latter to deflect under the load which, at best, is undesirable and, at worst, is unacceptable.
Some of the prior art assemblies described above also are limited in use in that the article holding members can be associated with the elongate retainer member only at certain discrete points along the length thereof. Thus, it is necessary in certain situations that the article holding member be attached to the retainer member at a certain position and only then can the holding member be moved longitudinally. This is disadvantageous under circumstances where other holding members have already been associated with the retainer member and where the addition of a new holding member necessitates an adjustment in the positions of the holding members already associated with the retainer member.